Menu

Walks in Yorkshire

Walks in Yorkshire is here to help you find a walk suited to your tastes, and those of the people you are walking with. Whether you want a 1-mile saunter through local woodland, or an epic walk of 10 miles or more, we’re compiling as many walks as we can, completely free to access – forever. You can check out our walking routes here:

All our walks are filterable, whether that be by area of Yorkshire, by features of the walk or by duration. This helps you narrow down on the right walk in Yorkshire for you. We also add other information within the walk such as what the weather forecast for that given area of Yorkshire, as well as relevant maps and parking in the area.

We’re always open to feedback about our website as it helps us get better at what we do, whether you spot an improvement or an error, please let us know. You can contact john@walksinyorkshire.com or you can fill in the survey linked to below:

The reason we have started this website is to create a library of as many walks in Yorkshire as possible. Providing walks for people in all areas without large travelling times required, or for people less familiar with Yorkshire who are visiting, and allows them to quickly find a relevant walk. The aim is to also make this library of walks as user friendly as possible – allowing people to find walks on all devices, wherever they are.

Yorkshire itself has much picturesque beauty to offer, alongside landscapes changed by industry and other human influences. Whatever reasons you walk for, there will be many walks for you, we’ve got coastal walks, woodland, reservoirs and waterfalls, plus loads more.

The Areas of Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is the largest county in England, and contains within it the majority of both the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It also includes a variety of well-known cities, towns and villages – from Haworth to York, from Settle to Scarborough.

It is within North Yorkshire where the majority of the well-known Yorkshire walks fall, such as Aysgarth Falls, Thornton-Le-Dale and Ribbleshead Viaduct. It also offers some of the most dramatic landscapes that Yorkshire has to offer – and offers the greatest amount of land untouched by human activity.

When you think of history in North Yorkshire then one of the first places to pop into your head is York, the beautiful city which retains much of it’s historic features and subsequently charm. You also have sites such as Middleham Castle, which has it’s beginnings in 1190 and is located in Wensleydale and the well-loved Bolton Abbey, located in Wharfedale. You may also think of Whitby, known well for Captain Cook, it’s abbey and, of course, Dracula.

The geology of North Yorkshire is predominantly Carboniferous. Very few places escaped the impact of the glaciers, and the landscape is much shaped by this period. Some of the best known geological features in North Yorkshire include the limestone pavement at Malham Cove, and Brimham Rocks – both are rather spectacular sites to behold.

East Yorkshire, also known as the East Riding of Yorkshire, includes parts of the Yorkshire Wolds, as well as having many coastal walks to offer.

Places of interest include the River Ouse, the Humber estuary (and of course the Humber Bridge) as well as a number of buildings such as Beverley Minster, Skipsea Castle and Burnby Hall. Also, not forgetting Bempton Cliffs – a sanctuary for seabirds.

The most commonly known historic site in East Yorkshire is that of the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. The wolds of East Yorkshire also had a great deal of appeal peoples of the Bronze Age, with much archaeology in the area supporting this fact.

East Yorkshire is made up primarily of cretaceous period geology, but also includes Jurassic, Triassic and Alluvium parts. The Yorkshire Wolds is made up of a chalk formation which famously stretches out to make up Flamborough Head.

South Yorkshire, perhaps best known for it’s industry, includes the city of steel – Sheffield, as well as other well-known towns such as Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.

Places of interest include Cannon Hall, Wentworth Castle and Gardens and Conisbrough Castle. There are also great open spaces to enjoy such as Howden Moors, Rother Valley Country Park and Worsbrough Mill and Country Park.

The history of South Yorkshire goes back to prehistoric times, including the remains of a mesolithic hut, but the area is perhaps most historically known for its industries. The 2 key industries being mining and steel.

The geology of South Yorkshire is predominantly Triassic, and it also included a large coal field, which the most famous coal seam being called the ‘Barnsley Bed’. The coal field itself is carboniferous.

West Yorkshire, another area well known for it’s industry, particularly its Woollen Mills, many of which remain to this day – it is also rather famous for its Rhubarb. The area includes places such as Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford and Halifax.

It is an area rich with places of interest, from the Bronte Parsonage and surrounding countryside, to Saltaire – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also has it’s fair share of natural attractions, like Ilkley Moor, Otley Chevin and the Harewood Estate.

With has it’s history in the ‘West Riding’ of Yorkshire, West Yorkshire has much to be proud of from the industrial revolution, when it was the second major place of manufacture in the UK. At this time the West Riding covered parts of South and North Yorkshire, as well as parts of Lancashire.

West Yorkshire lies on mostly carboniferous rocks, as well as the Yorkshire coal field. It’s landscape is varied – with plenty of hilly and undulating landscape, as well as many scars and other rock features.

Many of the walks require the ability to get there by car but we do try to include walks that can be accessed by train, so that we are not restricting this site to people with the means to travel by car.

In addition, the actual accessibility of the route for things such as wheelchairs and pushchairs is not something we have been able to indicate, but we hope to be able to do this in the future.
Take Care

Before setting off on a walk, make sure that you check the weather and are suitably prepared for where you are going and the potential conditions. Moorland is one of the key areas that you need to take care on, as it can be easy to become lost and disorientated and the weather can change quickly. The same is true of peaks. Also, if you are planning on walk riverside, or crossing a river by stepping stones or a ford, please check the river levels before you set off, and be aware of weather in the surrounding areas so you aren’t caught out by flash floods. Why not take a look on riverlevels.uk before you head out?

Iconic Landscapes and Landmarks

Yorkshire offers so many well-known, iconic, landscapes such as Malham Cove, Aysgarth Falls and Flamborough Head. It also has many, amazing, man-made marvels such as York minister, Ribblehead Viaduct and Fountains Abbey. All of this is right there for you – much of it is free to enjoy and discover.

Lesser-known Yorkshire

Whilst there’s lots of iconic places in Yorkshire, there are also many lesser known destinations that still have much to offer. Here at Walks in Yorkshire one of our key challenges is finding these destinations to mix in with the iconic destinations. These lesser-known walks tend to be more local to major cities and towns – sometimes they’re walks that even people in the area don’t know much about. We want to bring out these hidden parts of Yorkshire.

Forged by ice and heat

Yorkshire is an area of land much shaped by the glaciers of the last ice age, but was also once arid desert which can be hard to remember when you’re being beaten back by cold, severe wind and driving rain, during what was supposed to be a nice summers day walk.

The mark of history

Yorkshire is rich with history, which has left it’s mark in the form of abbey’s, castles, former mills and mounds in the landscape. It is the place of significant battles, as well as significant events and home to the birthplaces of many significant people.

Respect and Etiquette

We ask that anyone who goes on any walks takes care to respect the environment they are in and the other walkers they come across. This includes not littering and respecting the wildlife in the area.

On a personal note

To move away from ‘we’ to ‘I’ for a moment. I, the person who started this website, have lived in Yorkshire my whole life. I’ve lived in Barnsley, York and Leeds and have travelled throughout Yorkshire. It therefore holds many memories for me but whilst still remaining largely undiscovered to me. Walks, both old and new, have secrets and intrigue.

The goal for the website currently is to get 365 walks in our library – one for every day of the year.